Reenlisting
by AiLing
Summary: Things were looking up for Cristina and Owen...until he decides to re-enlist in the army...
1. Chapter 1

**So this is my brand new fanfic. : ) I have written fanfics on most of the couples in Grey's, and it's fair that Cristina and Owen get their chance too… This is an idea that came to my mind a few weeks ago. I hope you like it!**

**Cristina's POV**

' Oh my God that was…..wow….just amazing' I mutter as Owen rolls off me and we both lie side by side, catching our breaths. This is the second time we've gone at it tonight, and we certainly aren't showing any signs of wearing out anytime soon.

Owen props up in his forearms and looks at me, his green eyes burning with passion.

He looks so damn sexy with his chest exposed, showing off his pectoralis muscles.

He begins to kiss me passionately again…and I can feel the heat begin to rise in my body again in anticipation of the dizzy road he has taken me down so many times before. This guy really has the stamina of an ironman.

But just as my body begins to cave in, he pushes away from me.

I look up at him puzzled.

' Cristina, I've something to tell you' he says, his voice serious all of a sudden.

I think he can hear my heart pounding. This doesn't sound good at all.

' I'm reenlisting in the army'.

' You…what?! But why?!'

' I have been having these nightmares again about Iraq…and I…just have to go back there and revisit them. I've spoken to the psychiatrist, and she agrees that it's the best treatment for my PTSD….'

I am now sitting upright on the bed.

' Oh so you're leaving Seattle Grace and a comfortable life here behind just so you can revisit your nightmares? Owen….are you drunk?'

' No…I've deliberated this over for so long, and I've decided that this is what is best for me….for us. I just really need to treat my condition, before it flares up again. I don't want to choke you again…'

' For us? So you're leaving me? You're breaking up with me?'

' I…no no…that's not what I mean. I'm not breaking up with you!' Owen sounds exasperated. ' I'm not leaving for good, just for a few months, a year tops.'

' You are so full of yourself Owen' I say coldly, leaping out of the bed. ' You only think of yourself all the time'

Before he could answer, I have slammed the bedroom door behind me.

* * *

I'm sitting in the kitchen at 3am in the morning, sipping my coffee. I just cannot go back to sleep after Owen's announcement. The truth is…. I do not think he is selfish at all. The truth is…I just didn't want him to leave me. I don't want to lose him. I know America needs people like him to fight for the country but Cristina Yang needs him more.

Sighing heavily, I pick up my cell and speeddial a number.

' Hello?' a sleepy voice answered.

' Mer, It's me' I say.

' Cristina, it's 3 am in the morning. This has better be good. If it's not a corpus colosectomy or something huge like that I'm hanging up right now'

' Owen is re-enlisting in the army' I state as a matter of factly.

Silence.

' Meredith?'

' How about you come over to my place now. Derek has a night shift.'

That's why Mer is my person.

Half an hour later, I'm tucked comfortably in Meredith's bed.

' I mean…we just had been having this mind blowing sex…'

' Too much info there'

' Whatever….and then bam…he just drops the news like that…like a bomb….'

' Why do you think he wants to re-enlist?' Meredith asks.

' I don't know. Maybe he wants to be patriotic. Or maybe just to piss me off. Or maybe he wants to kill himself.' I shrug.

Meredith is now propped up on her elbows as she looks at me, her green eyes now wide open.

' Derek wants me to have his babies' she states matter of factly. ' He just said so before he left for his shift.'

' Do you want to have his babies?'

' Yes eventually, but I just don't know if I'm ready yet…. I mean…I don't want to be a crappy mom, you know…like mine….'

' Men are stupid' I sigh.

' Men are stupid' Mer repeats, and we both lie on the bed staring up at the ceiling.

' Maybe you can do me a favor and tell Derek to stop Owen from re-enlisting' I say and we both laugh.

' And you can tell Owen to tell Derek that I'm not ready for kids'

' That's a deal.'

* * *

The next day, I try avoiding Owen. Which is a tough thing to do, as he seems to be everywhere in the hospital grounds. When I am standing at the hospital bridge, he comes up to me and tries to take my hands in his, but I slip away from him and walk away, leaving him confused.

There is no escape route for me, not even in the OT. Owen has this super huge surgery whereby he is operating on a patient who suffered tension pneumothorax, a subdural haematoma and several open fractures after an MVA. And being the competitive surgeon I am, when I found out about the surgery, I just simply couldn't turn down this golden opportunity, even if it meant coming face to face with him again.

' Yang, can you help me hold the suction tube?' Owen is calling me by my last name, which isn't a good sign.

I do as told.

' I'm not leaving you' he says suddenly.

' I'm sorry?' I pretend to be clueless.

' I enlisted not because I want to leave you, but because I love you' I hear him say, followed by a huge sigh.

I pretend to concentrate on the suction and the patient's bloody lungs, not looking up at him.

I can hear Alex let out a snicker from behind his mask, and I can feel several pairs of eyes staring at me.

I think they can see me blushing behind my mask.

' I'm sorry….I…have to go…umm…emergency, I just got paged ….' I mutter as I tear of my mask and run out of the OT.

* * *

It turned out that Owen didn't get to have a proper conversation with me, as I keep on turning down every opportunity for us to have a decent chat. Call me nasty or selfish for all you want, but that's me.

And before I know it, the day for Owen to depart for the army arrived. Meredith has told me that Derek had tried to persuade him out of the army, but as it turns out, Owen is being his usual stubborn self and still insists on going.

I didn't even see him off at the airport. The truth is…I hate goodbyes. I hate seeing someone you actually care about go away. I've hated goodbyes ever since my Dad died when I was nine. Goodbyes hurt too much, they slice into your heart like a scalpel.

I couldn't concentrate that day. I was scrubbed in for a complex heart transplant surgery with Dr. Teddy Altman which was a once in a lifetime opportunity which normally would have me feeling on cloud nine. But somehow, even as I am holding the beating heart in my hands, something which would usually get my adrenaline pumping, I can't stop my mind from wondering about Owen. Is he still in the airport now…at the waiting lounge? Or has he boarded the plane?

' Yang…which arteries supply the right atrium of the heart?' Dr. Altman's voice interrupts my thoughts.

' Umm…I'm sorry…can you repeat the question again?'

' Are you ok Yang? You seem a bit…out of it today.'

' I'm fine' I say a little too confidently.

' You know, I miss him too' she sighs.

And I pretend not to know what she's talking about.

Right after the surgery, I put on my jacket and run to my car, not bothering to even change out of my scrubs. And I begin driving at 120 miles per hour to the airport.

When I reach, I check the boarding times to see that Owen's flight is now boarding.

I rush straight into the departure lounges, right past security officers who yell at me to stop and produce my tickets, and airport personnel who point out that I need my handbag scanned. I ignore them.

Then I spot him, his red hair making him stand out from the crowd. He is queing up in front of the boarding gate, ready to board his flight.

'Owen!' I call out. He couldn't hear me.

I begin running over towards the queue, when the queue suddenly moved again. It is now Owen's turn and he is now producing his boarding ticket to the personnel.

'Owen!' I call out again. This time, several heads turn towards me curiously and several eyes are staring at me. But not Owen. He is now walking towards the plane.

I now reach the spot where the queue was.

' Your ticket please, mam' says the personnel.

I try to push past him.

' You have to show me your ticket please!' his voice is now raised.

I am about to argue with him, when I see the plane doors close and the engines roaring.

And I hunch my shoulders in defeat.

* * *

The next few weeks I just couldn't function at all. I am like a walking zombie, going about my daily chores without thinking of what I am doing. I would wake up in the morning and reach out to the other side of the bed, almost forgetting that Owen isn't here. I would wonder what Owen is doing right now in Iraq, whether he is still safe and sound, or whether he had been wounded. I would think of him even as I check on my patients, even as I'm scrubbed in for amazing surgeries. And nighttimes are the worst, I would lie awake in my bed, trying to block out from my mind the worst case scenario, that I might never see him again. I begin doing things I would normally never do, like watching the primetime news, reading the newspapers and even logging onto Facebook and twitter, just for any indication of how he's doing in Iraq. But of course, I remain clueless and can only hope for the best.

' Cristina, you have to eat' says Meredith when we are seated in the hospital cafeteria one day.

I look down at my untouched plate of macaroni and cheese.

'I'm not hungry'

' Dude, you miss him don't you? Just admit it already' Alex smirks.

' Oh, just shut up already Evil Spawn' I snap, which earns yet another smirk from him.

' He'll be fine. He'll be back here in one piece.' says Mer, trying but failing miserably to sound convincing.

I stab at a piece of macaroni with my fork. ' I just don't know how he's doing. There's no letter, no email, no Facebook message, no news at all from him.'

' Wow, you've really gone soft' says Alex, as Mer sends him a death glare.

' Just leave her alone already, it's obvious that she is disturbed.'

Lexie now joins us at the table, placing down her tray of spaghetti.

' Any news about Owen?'

' No' her sister answers for me.

Lexie opens her mouth to say something but suddenly her attention seems to be diverted to the tiny overhead TV above us.

' Oh my….' she whispers.

I squint up to see what she was pointing at. And I can barely make out the latest news headlines ' Fifty soldiers killed and hundred others wounded in Iraq'

For a moment I think that I may have misread the headlines.

But when I steal a glance at my colleagues, they all have the same look of horror on their faces.

Now Mer is looking at me, a look of sympathy on her face. Lexie awkwardly reaches her hand out to touch mine. Although they have not spoken a single word, I can read their thoughts, which mirror mine. ' Is Owen one of them?'

**A cliffhanger! ;) Comments, reviews are very welcome….**


	2. Chapter 2

**Owen's POV**

Iraq is not a fun place to be, I can tell you that. You just don't get the same sense of security like you do at home. It's stepping out of your comfort zone. The bunk beds we sleep on are worn out, the food we eat are stale, the toilets filthy. It just makes you miss home. And miss the loved ones you leave behind.

Loved ones.. my mind begins to wander to my colleagues. Derek, who has always been a good friend in need and who has helped me to overcome my PTSD crisis. Mark, who has always been my good companion, a buddy to crack jokes and laugh with. Teddy, who is one cool chick…I still love her, just…not in the same way as I love Cristina.

Cristina Yang is one feisty chick who is never afraid to speak her mind. She is blunt and honest, with her, what you see is what you get. The thing I like most about her is that she is tough as steel, and stubborn too. She never caves in easily, and she never gives up easily. I don't know why, but I have difficulty expressing my feelings towards her. Once, I wanted to tell her that I love her, but ended up saying 'Take care now' instead, which pissed her off. There is just something about her which makes me speechless.

I take out a picture of both of us together from my wallet. The both of us were in our scrubs, me in my dark blue ones and her in her light blue ones. We were both smiling into the camera happily, I can see the light shining in our eyes. I stare at the picture for a long time, wondering what she is doing right now. Maybe scrubbing in on a cardiac bypass surgery with Teddy. Maybe chatting away with Meredith. Is she thinking of me too?

I jump when I feel a hard tap on my shoulder. I turn around to see Tom, a tall large built blond haired colleague of mine straining to look over my shoulder at the photo.

' That's your girl?'

' Yeah'

He whistled. ' Wow, she's something isn't she? Pretty. I can see she has a feisty character, just based on the photo.'

I chuckle. 'Yes, she is'

That night, I couldn't sleep. After several failed attempts, I climbed out of my bunk bed and switched on the lamp on the table. I opened the drawer and took out several blank sheets of paper. This is the only way I know how to express my feelings for her.

_Cristina, I'm writing this letter mainly because this is the only way I know how to express my feelings for you. I just want you to know that right now I'm thinking of you and wondering what you are doing back in Seattle. And wondering if you're thinking of me too. I just want to let you know that I'm still safe and sound in Iraq right now, and not to worry about my well being. Take care now. _

_I love you._

_Owen._

It would probably take a week at least for the letter to reach her. Had I emailed her or Facebook messaged her, she would receive it in an instant. But unfortunately, we do not have internet connection here in camp.

Finally I drifted off to sleep, thinking of her.

* * *

The next day, I am awoken at dawn by a loud noise, something which sounded like a gun being shot. My eyes shot open and I look around me. My comrades are getting out of their beds, apparently they heard it too.

We step outside our barracks to be greeted by a fire of missiles. Somebody is shooting bullets at our direction. We are under attack! We duck back into our barracks to take out our revolvers. We are soldiers, we are not going down without a fight. Soon we find ourselves in the midst of a gunfire battle. Bullets are being fired left and right. Several of my comrades are now wounded, and groaning in pain, clutching the places where they had been hit. The enemy doesn't seem to be giving up that easily. I make a mental count, I would need to perform several hundred stitches and twice as many wound dressings later.

Suddenly from the corner of my eye, I spot a little boy about the age of five, standing there in front of camp, sobbing uncontrollably and rubbing his eyes. He looks lost, maybe he has lost his parents. He is standing in the way of the missiles, and instinctively, I know that he could be shot at any moment. Before I can stop myself, I run out of our hiding place in the nearby bushes and grab the boy by his right hand. We run for our lives back to the bushes. But just as we are about to duck into safety, I feel a sharp piercing pain on my left thigh.

I curse quietly to myself ( I didn't want the boy to hear me cursing) as I feel the pain radiating from my thigh right up to my hips and to my back. Then 'BOOM' the loud deafening noise was just last thing I heard before my world turned black.

* * *

I open my eyes to see a pretty woman smiling down at me.

I groan. Where the hell am I?

Then I feel the shooting pain on my thigh and I remember.

' You're awake! You have been out for about two days.'

' Where am I?'

' You're in the army hospital. I'm the nurse working here'.

I look down at my legs and find them tightly wrapped in an above knee cast.

I try to move, but the pain is still radiating down my back. I cannot move both my legs, I cannot even wriggle my toes. I am paralyzed from waist down!

' Help me!' I roar. ' I'm paralyzed aren't I?'

' We don't know yet' the nurse sighed. ' A doctor checked you out just now and he has removed the bullet from your thigh. However, he has doubts on whether you can regain function of your legs.'

I lean back on my pillow in defeat. What am I supposed to do now? I have lost function of both my legs.

' I want to go back to America' I say suddenly.

' You have to wait….we have to monitor you for at least a month before we can let you go'

I am now delirious. I want to go home like now. And I want to see my Cristina now.

' I want to go home!' I yell before I drift back into unconsciousness.


	3. Chapter 3

**Cristina's POV**

' Cristina, he's not going to log onto Facebook or twitter or his email….I highly doubt he has internet access over there' Meredith says as I refresh my Facebook page for the hundredth time. We are now at the nurses counter, where I am playing with my blackberry. Or rather, using it to check for any news about Owen.

' Well, who knows he might actually have internet access there?' I say, refreshing again.

Meredith sighs in defeat. She knows that when I need something I wouldn't give up that easily.

For the past month or so, I am just a pale shadow of my usual self. If before, I would be rushing to check on my patients, busy filling in paperwork and enthusiastic about scrubbing in for huge surgeries, now all these things take a backburner. Sometimes my colleagues would find me lying on the bed in the oncall room staring at the ceiling.

Wherever I go, I can hear whispers. I know everyone in the hospital is talking about me, wondering what has come over me, thinking what a pathetic person I have become.

Lexie now joins us at the counter.

' Cristina, this letter is addressed to you. Hmm…I wonder who could it be from?'

I snatch the letter from her hands and see the familiar handwriting on the envelope.

' It is from Owen' I say, smiling for the first time in weeks.

I read and reread the letter, tracing the ink and the cursives of his writing.

' He's alive and well' I whisper, thanking God in my heart.

' Look at the date' Meredith pointed out. Isn't it the day before the incident in Iraq?'

My smile fades away instantly. She is right, that was outdated news. What I really want to know is …how is Owen _right now?_

* * *

A few weeks have passed, and still no news of Owen.

I am starting to resign to the fact that I would never know of his wellbeing. I begin to indulge myself in my job and surgeries now, to block my mind of the fact that I don't know how he is doing.

One morning, I am busy prepping a patient for cardiac surgery when I receive an emergency page.

' _Up to the hospital rooftop now'_ it read.

I wait in anticipation at the rooftop with Meredith, as the helicopter landed smoothly on the landing pad. Cases whereby the patient is being brought in by helicopters are always the best, as they are usually either emergency cases, or complex cases which we rarely get to see.

The moment they carried him down from the helicopter on a stretcher, I knew it was him. It is so easy to identify the red hair, the green eyes…

Even if he looked ten year older than when I last saw him and has a cast on his left leg.

' Owen…..' I call out to him.

His green eyes meet my black eyes.

He struggles to sit up and reach out his hands to me, but it is obvious that he is too weak to do so.

' Oh my God, he's alive….' Meredith whispers beside me.

* * *

I am now in Owen's room. Derek has just finished doing a thorough neurological exam on him, which includes testing all his reflexes from head to toe, and testing his upper and lower limb tone and power. He has just walked out of the room to check on another patient, so I'm now left alone with Owen for the first time since he's arrived back.

There is a tense silence between us, as neither of us know what to say. The air in the room is filled with many unspoken words, words which we want to say to each other, but somehow just couldn't speak them out loud. I clear my throat as I stand at the side of his bed. I am not a sentimental or a mushy person, so I'm not good at reunions or things of that sort.

' I miss you' I say finally. There I said it. ' I have been thinking of you, wondering how you are doing all this while. And when the news came on that many soldiers were killed and wounded in Iraq…I was wondering if you were one of them…' I find my voice shaking.

Silence.

' I miss you too' he finally answers. ' I've been thinking about you too every single day.'

I look at his face which seems devoid of any emotions, but I know him well enough to know that he's telling the truth.

I take his hands in mine. ' I'm so glad that you're alive….I really am. I thought that I would never see you again….'

To my surprise, he suddenly withdraws his hands from me.

' But I'm not the same person anymore, Cristina. I have lost function of both my legs, I don't think I can practice medicine anymore. I will be a burden to you.'

To both of our surprise, I shake my head.

' No, you are not a burden. I will take care of you and be beside you to support you all the way from now on.'

His face is now scrunched up, as if he is about to cry.

' But you're an amazing surgeon Cristina, you are the best resident we have in this hospital, and you're a future top cardiothoracic surgeon. You have so much potential, I don't want to pull you down with me.'

This time, I'm at loss for words. The old Cristina would suddenly get cold chills down her spine and back out of the room and walk away from him. The old Cristina would choose surgery in an instant over someone who has become crippled.

But somewhere deep down in my heart is the new Cristina who will love a man unconditionally, who will love him even if he is confined to a wheelchair, even if I have to take care of him.

I am torn now, I don't know what to do.

I stand at the doorway for a few moments before I walk out of the room stiffly. I can hear his heavy sigh as I leave him.

* * *

' When you love someone, you stay beside him no matter what….' says Meredith as she shoves a spoonful of pasta into her mouth.

' But… I can't afford to take care of him. He's practically an invalid now' I say, sighing and looking down at my plate.

' When we made our post-it vows, Derek and I promised to each other that we'll always stand by each other even if we're old and senile. And he promised to not run away even when I have Alzheimer's' Mer says. 'So I do believe that this is what real love is about…standing by your other half no matter what happens.'

' Yeah…you've gone all lovey dovey. I like the dark and twisty Mer better.' I sulk, although deep down, I actually agree with her. Being the stubborn person that I am, I never like to admit that someone else is right.

But Meredith seems unfazzled by my grumpiness, yet another reason why she is my person.

' Go' she says smiling. ' Go back to Owen's room and tell him how much he means to you. Tell him that you love him and that you would always stand by him no matter what'

_No matter what. _Her words are now echoing in my head as I walk gingerly towards Owen's room.

He seems to be fast asleep when I re-enter his room. Slowly so as not to awaken him, I make my way to the seat at the side of his bed.

I sit there, staring at him, at his casted leg, at his calf muscles which are now starting to waste. Would he ever learn to walk again? Could I actually love this man?

Now he opens his eyes and looks at me. Picking up my courage, I take his hands into mine at look at him in the eye. ' I know you wouldn't believe me, but I'm going to stay with you from now on. I'm not going anywhere, so you have to get used to that.' I say seriously, which makes him let out a laugh.

' You don't mind having to push me in my wheelchair everyday, and helping me in the shower? Is that what you really want?'

This time, I'm confident of my answer. 'Yes'.

He smiles at me. ' My physiotherapy sessions begin tomorrow. Would you like to accompany me there after you pre-op rounds?'

'Sure, I'm not scrubbed in for any surgeries tomorrow'.

I climb on his bed as he struggles to make space for me. And we snuggle together the whole night, just chatting and catching up with each others lives for the past month.

It is then that I know that I have changed, I am a entirely different person from the Cristina Yang who first set foot in Seattle Grace hospital as an intern five years ago. Most importantly, I know that I'm now in love with a man named Owen Hunt, and that I'm lucky that I almost lost him but I didn't.

**There it is, the happy ending! I hope you like this short but sweet story : ) Comments and reviews are very welcome!! **


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